Cllr Prue Bray says the Lib Dems will impose their own cut in special allowances

Councillors’ allowances have been frozen for the second year running but members turned down a proposal to reduce special allowances by five per cent.

The Wokingham Conservatives voted against a reduction in the allowances given to councillors with significant additional responsibilities at a meeting of Wokingham Borough Council on last Thursday

The amendment was proposed by the Liberal Democrats, who said they would still be taking the five per cent reduction despite Conservative councillors refusing to do so.

Councillor Prue Bray, leader of Wokingham Liberal Democrats, said: “We propose a five per cent cut in special responsibility allowances. Last year that was not accepted however the Liberal Democrats in receipt of those services took a five per cent cut anyway and they will do so this year.”

The special responsibility allowance is paid to executive members and the leader of the opposition who have additional work to carry out on behalf of the council.

The basic allowance given to councillors is £7,360 per year including allowances for IT and home office expenses.

Special responsibility allowance is given at £5,000 per annum with 28 members eligible to receive the sum.

In Bracknell last year basic allowance was set at £8,687 while in Reading it was set at £8,385.

After the meeting, council leader Cllr David Lee, said: “I think that we do a substantial amount of work for a very small amount of money and there’s no suggested increase.

“It’s all very well for them to make comments like that but if we are trying to run a council as we are doing and doing it very efficiently then I think it’s very different.”

After the meeting Cllr Stephen Conway, the deputy leader of Wokingham Liberal Democrats, who will be one of three Lib Dems taking the cut, said: “A freeze is infinitely better than voting for an increase but our view is it did not really go far enough.

“Many council employees are facing pay cuts and many residents are facing a big squeeze in their incomes and we thought it was appropriate to try and live up to the rhetoric that we are all in this together.”

At the meeting members also voted to scrap first class travel on public transport. Last year only one claim was made for the cost of first class travel.

Members were also advised that there is a £500 component of the basic allowance given to all councillors which should be used for IT communication.

Robin Cops, a member of the independent remuneration panel which recommended the allowances freeze, said that councillors who fail to communicate with their constituents effectively should not be in receipt of the money.

He said: “It is clear that some members do not use their emails. If members are not going to use emails then that sum should be withdrawn.”

Under the changes to allowances members also approved an alteration in the allowance for childcare and dependant carers from a maximum of eight hours a week to a maximum of 35 hours a month.